Volume 15 Issue 47

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Adrian Brown is away.

Solutions Seen for Bright Stock Users

The looming shortfall of bright stock can be managed by use of alternatives along with addition of new capacity, said Ernie Henderson of K&E Petroleum Consulting at a recent industry meeting in Houston, Texas. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about half of all bright stock demand, which is in line with the regions appetite for lubricants in general. Developing regions, especially China, have maintained this demand because of old equipment and technology that require monograde oils. While...

Russian Market Still Contracting

MOSCOW – Russian lubricant and base oil demand combined fell around 6 percent to 1.6 million metric tons in 2014, and it is highly likely to continue falling due to dwindling consumer spending and burdensome taxes, a Moscow-based consultancy said. We entered into the second year of the crisis, but we learned how to live and adjust in an environment of low crude oil prices, Tamara Kandelaki, head of InfoTek, told RPIs Lubricants Russia conference held here last week. The [lubricants] demand...

Africa Lube Markets Have Potential

JOHANNESBURG – The stabilizing global economy will result in lubricant demand remaining flat at around 40 million metric tons by 2020, but demand in Africa should continue growing, Geeta Agashe of Geeta Agashe & Associates LLC said at the ICIS African Base Oils and Lubricant Conference. Agashe noted that the sub-Saharan Africa region has a lot of growth prospects. She cited, amongst other factors, the population increase forecast for sub-Saharan Africa, which will increase the number o...

LyondellBassell Plant Moves Forward

LyondellBassell is proceeding with engineering design work for a Houston-area plant that would produce tertiary butyl alcohol and derivatives used to make lubricant additives, among other applications. The project is expected to create up to 2,500 construction jobs and about 100 permanent positions. The plant will also have production capacity for up to one billion pounds of propylene oxide. The plant will be located at the companys complex in Channelview, Texas. The company will soon begin fron...

Briefly Noted

Metalworking fluids makerHoughton International appointed current Chief Operating Officer Mike Shannon as CEO effective Jan. 1, succeeding CEO Paul DeVivo, who will retire. Distributor Oil Combustibles entered a five-year deal to offer branded lubricants supplied by French oil major Total at more than 340 service stations in Argentina. Ashland hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a 162,400-square-foot office building in Lexington, Ky., to serve as global headquarters for its Valvoline business unit, which is expected to be spun off as soon as September next year, pending approvals. The $35 million development is slated for completion by February 2017.